What a blessing it was to worship with Pastor Nathan and his congregation at Church of the Blessed Mango Tree. Baby dedications occurred that Sunday and we were blessed to watch three babies be dedicated. Similar to the US, the baby is dedicated with a prayer and the congregation agrees to support and model the love of Christ.
The dedication was over and then all of the sudden one of the women said something in Kinyarwandan and the next thing you know the dance team is up and dancing and singing and the whole congregation is standing praising the Lord. Our interpreter shared that the congregation wanted to thank God for providing the church with not one but with three healthy babies. The mortality rate is high. One baby would have been a blessing but three was like a miracle.
Humbled. I have seen ten or more babies dedicated in a given church service. We laugh and coo at the babies, we promise to support the baby and the parents as they raise the child and that’s where it ends. We need to take a page out of the Church of the Blessed Mango tree and give the Lord a hand for what He has done. Acknowledging He is Elohim, creator - the giver of life! We have become so numb in the U.S. that unless the mother had a difficult pregnancy or the child experienced challenges at birth we don't even acknowledge God and His provision.
Offering of Thanksgiving
As the celebration went on two gifts were presented to Pastor Nathan and his assistant. The church took an offering of praise to celebrate the Lord’s goodness of three babies. The gifts were for the pastors – tableclothes for the table in the sanctuary an''d a thermos to keep the coffee or tea warm. As you can see by the picture, the assistant pastor was very happy with the gift!
In addition to praising the Lord with all of their being, they gave an offering of thanksgiving to the Lord. When was the last time we took up a praise offering after baby dedication to thank the Lord for his goodness in providing the parents and our church with those precious babies? When was the last time we worshipped the Lord with true joy for the gift of life?
Great post. I feel this is why everyone needs to visit a third-world country in their life - so their reference point changes. It makes me sad that the baby mortality rate is so high. The pastors' gifts - and how happy they were to receive it - I mean, when is the last time we gave a gift to someone and they were THAT happy?! It's so rare here. They are so....grateful there. Makes me want to give them everything. I know you feel the same.
ReplyDeleteLOVE reading all your lessons and reflecting back with you. I pray that all of your times, feelings, emotions, and the moving of your spirit stay with and don't evaportate into your daily routines. You are such a world changer, I love how this trip and can move even your heart already so impassioned with God's compassion.
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